{"id":15069,"date":"2024-08-02T13:38:17","date_gmt":"2024-08-02T13:38:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/trustpair.com\/blog\/what-is-white-collar-crime-and-how-can-it-be-prevented\/"},"modified":"2025-08-20T10:09:06","modified_gmt":"2025-08-20T10:09:06","slug":"what-is-white-collar-crime-and-how-can-it-be-prevented","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/trustpair.com\/gb\/blog\/what-is-white-collar-crime-and-how-can-it-be-prevented\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is White-Collar Crime And How Can It Be Prevented?"},"content":{"rendered":"

White collar was a term coined in the 1930s relating to workers in offices: men typically wore a white shirt and tie whereas manual labourers tended to wear blue overalls (blue-collar). White-collar crime is committed against a business, often by an employee, or by an organisation if individuals within it are powerful enough. <\/span><\/p>\n

The FBI describes white-collar crimes as \u201ccharacterized by deceit, concealment, or violation of trust and are not dependent on the application or threat of physical force or violence. The motivation behind these crimes is financial\u2014to obtain or avoid losing money, property, or services or to secure a personal or business advantage\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

The value of an organisation\u2019s losses to white-collar crime is not limited to the sum in question. The financial and reputational consequences can be far reaching. There may be court cases and significant penalties payable. And the loss of reputation can destroy a business. <\/span><\/p>\n

White-collar crime statistics show a huge problem<\/h2>\n

The depth and breadth of white-collar crime is enormous. Organisations can deliberately mislead investors with false information to inflate their share price or evade tax; hide, destroy, or falsify documents; launder money; or be involved in corruption. Individuals can embezzle, steal, hide losses, spy for competitors, sabotage systems or manipulate markets. The scope is huge. <\/span><\/p>\n

According to the PwC\u2019s <\/span>2020 Global Economic Crime and Fraud Survey<\/span><\/a>, nearly half of all fraud committed was by people \u2018invited in\u2019 rather than external forces. They found that 37% were committed by employees, and 20% involved collusion between an employee and another party. And 43% of reported frauds in 2020 resulting in losses of over USD 100 million were committed by insiders. <\/span><\/p>\n

White-collar criminals hide in plain sight. They are typically male, well-educated, and in their mid-forties. They are often married and involved in the community. They are employed in positions of trust. <\/span><\/p>\n

Examples of white-collar crime<\/h2>\n

There are several main areas of white-collar crime, with each offering various ways for criminals to make money.<\/span><\/p>\n